Geocache Name:

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

1.5/2

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

One of the best parts about geocaching is that there are plenty of ways to play. Some geocachers are all about finding creative containers, others are all about the numbers and some are all about the big picture—literally. Individually these 51 geocaches in the Nevada desert that make up this series might not be the most interesting finds, but when you put them together you get something incredible. And considering that yesterday a geocaching Travel Bug® launched into space, the shape you come up with is pretty appropriate. This isn’t the only piece of geo-art in the world. In fact, geocachers have been creating art out of geocaches for years. Other shapes include a peace sign, a UFO, people and animals.

# of Finds:

1,056

# of Favorite Points:

“Having our Head Alien Geo-art series selected for Geocache of the Week is a tremendous honor. After placing the E.T. Highway Mega-Trail, we thought it would be a nice surprise for everyone who attended the kick-off event to release the Head Alien series. We coordinated with our local reviewer for the Head Alien series to be published during the E.T. Trail event. The planning, travel time to reach the area, and actual placement of the caches took several days worth of work. The series takes roughly 3 to 4 hours to walk the nearly 7 mile design.

We love to read the logs and hear about the adventures people have out there. It’s what motivates us to do more. We’d like everyone to know how much we appreciate their efforts in the continued upkeep of the E.T. Highway Mega-Trail as well as both the Head Alien and U.F.O. series. We also want to say a heartfelt Thank You to everyone for their unwavering support of all our projects and events. It’s what inspires us to continue doing what we do.”

What geocachers are saying:

“This was an awesome cache series to do at night. Thanks for the hunt.” – graylling

“The walk around the alien head was fun and well worth the smilies we got. Thanks for putting these caches out here!” – Team_JLKC

“Had a blast taking on this sweet geo-art design today on our first day caching in Nevada.” – fox-and-the-hound

The photo of the soda bottle preform in a plastic tube…..The white tube is dug into the ground. It’s a guideline violation. You probably want to remove it. Sets a bad example.

Chris

Not sure who down voted it. While I personally have no problem with it, it is a guideline violation. From geocaching.com the guide clearly states “If one has to dig or create a hole in the ground when placing or finding a geocache, it is not allowed.”

Shelby Lynn

The actual geocache is not underground, he has the PVC pipe as a hold and the holder is buried for stability like a electrical pole. The wires of an electrical pole are not underground, just part of the pole. It helps it stay in place from animals and weather.

tozainamboku

If you were to create a piece of geo-art, what would it be and why?
A Puritan shooting a turkey with a blunderbuss – because that the kind of response I expect to see to this blog entry.

Derek H

This series was placed with land-manager permission, who actually requested that the caches be hidden this way.

Don Jag

Hopefully, you’ll read the guidelines before placing any caches. The cache does violate the current guidelines but did not at the time that it was published. It is because of thousands of cache like these that the guidelines were made stricter.

Don Jag

Despite the cache owners best efforts, the outline of the head and the eyes can now be seen from space. When you zoom in, you can clearly see a set of truck tracks. These are not there in past Google Earth images. It’s clear that hundreds of cachers did not read the CO’s instructions to hike the Alien Head and simply created new dirt roads in the Nevada Desert.

I’m really curious why the blog choose a series of caches that has caused so much environmental damage and uses a hiding technique that is now against the guidelines for their Geocache of the Week.

Don Jag

No, the response will be a rush on PVC pipe at Home Depot.

http://blog.geocaching.com Eric Schudiske

Hi Don,
Good questions. The geocache page asks people to walk the geotrail, which is what we suggest as well. The geocaches are hidden in such a manner at the request of the land owner and do not require a shovel – so they do meet guidelines. We’ll make sure to make those two points clear in the article.
Thanks,
Eric

Sheri M

Read the line immediately below the photo: “Editor’s note: These geocaches were placed with land-owner permission, who preferred that the caches be hidden this way.” It’s the desert. The land-owner wanted the caches to be inconspicuous on his/her property, and stipulated the conditions. I don’t see a problem.

Curmudgeon

That line was not there when I commented.

Ed Crawford

Are we allowed to burry with Land Owner permission?

briansnat

The cache violates current guidelines and the guidelines at the time it was published. Apparently it received a “permission of the landowner” exception as Eric explained. That said I still question the idea of featuring something like this. Thousands of people read this blog and many of them will think it’s a grand hide to hide a cache in such a manner and imitate it. These caches exist, but promoting them is a very bad idea.

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